Intensive interventional maternity care reduces infant morbidity and hospital costs

Objective: The purpose of this study was to introduce an intensive interventional maternity care program, called the Temple Infant and Parent Support Services (TIPSS) program, and to determine whether comprehensive maternal and infant care would reduce the high rate of infant morbidity and mortality. Methods: The TIPSS program was comprehensive, offering multidisciplinary services that were family focused and community based. Program services included community outreach, health education, as well as clinical care for the entire family. The effect of this program was evaluated among a very high-risk group of women who were recruited into care versus a control group of high-risk patients from the same neighborhood who voluntarily sought care at the Temple University School of Medicine. Outcome parameters evaluated included gestational age at delivery, birth weight, neonatal intensive care admission, infant death and cost of infant care. Results: Among the TIPSS study group, 5.2% of infants were below 2500 g versus 11% in the control group (p < 0.05). Similarly, preterm deliveries occurred in 4.2% and 12% of the study and control groups, respectively (p < 0.005). Other significant differences observed included the number of prenatal visits (p < 0.001), maternal weight gain (p < 0.05) and admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (2% vs. 6.6%; p < 0.05). The reduced admission rate among neonates from the TIPSS program resulted in significant cost savings: $2849 for neonates in the study group versus $8499 for those in the control group. This corresponds to a $5560 savings per infant born to mothers cared for in the TIPSS study group. Conclusions: The Temple Infant and Parent Support Services program demonstrated that infant morbidity could be reduced when a comprehensive prenatal program was made available to indigent patients, even if there were multiple factors that placed the mother and her infant at high risk for complications.